Morinlongosides A-C, Two New Naphthalene Glycoside and a New Iridoid Glycoside from the Roots of Morinda longissima.

Two new naphthalene glycosides, morinlongosides A and B (1, 2) and a new iridoid glycoside, morinlongoside C (3), together with four known ones, geniposidic acid (4), (3R)-3-O-[ß-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→6)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl]-l-octen-3-ol (5), lucidin-3-O-ß-primeveroside (6), and morindone-6-O-ß-gentiobioside (7), were isolated from the roots of Morinda longissima Y. Z. RUAN. The structures of all isolated compounds (1-7) were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data (high resolution (HR)-MS, one and two dimensional (1/2D)-NMR).

Inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase activity by compounds isolated from the aerial parts of Glycosmis stenocarpa.

The aim of this study is to search for soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors from natural plants, bioassay-guided fractionation of lipophilic n-hexane and chloroform layers of an extract of the aerial parts of Glycosmis stenocarpa led to the isolation of 12 compounds (1-12) including murrayafoline-A (1), isomahanine (2), bisisomahanine (3), saropeptate (4), (24 S)-ergost-4-en-3,6-dione (5), stigmasta-4-en-3,6-dion (6), stigmast-4-en-3-one (7), ß-sitosterol (8), 24-methylpollinastanol (9), trans-phytol (10), neosarmentol III (11) and (+)-epiloliolide (12). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Among them, neosarmentol III (11) was isolated from nature for the first time. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against sEH. Among isolated carbazole-type compounds, isomahanine (2) and bisisomahanine (3) were identified as a potent inhibitor of sEH, with IC50 values of 22.5 ± 1.7 and 7.7 ± 1.2 µM, respectively. Moreover, the inhibitory action of 2 and 3 represented mixed-type enzyme inhibition.

Alkylphloroglucinol derivatives and triterpenoids with soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitory activity from Callistemon citrinus.

Phytochemical analysis of the leaves and stems of Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels led to the isolation of two new alkylphloroglucinols, gallomyrtucommulone E and F (1 and 2), along with four other known alkylphloroglucinol derivatives, gallomyrtucommulone A (3), endoperoxide G3 (4), myrtucommulone B (5), callistenone B (6) and five known triterpenoids, including betulinic acid (7), 3ß-acetylmorolic acid (8), 3ß-hydroxy-urs-11-en-13(28)-olide (9), diospyrolide (10) and ursolic acid (11). The structures of the natural compounds were determined from the spectroscopic evidences including 1D-/2D-NMR and HR-MS spectrometry. All the isolated compounds were assessed for the effects on the sEH inhibitory activity. The acylphloroglucinols myrtucommulone B (5)/callistenone B (6) (in mixture), and two triterpenoids, ursolic acid (11) and 3ß-hydroxy-urs-11-en-13(28)-olide (9) displayed strong inhibition of sEH activity, with IC50 values of 0.7, 11.2 and 24.8 µM, respectively.

A methylation-specific dot blot assay for improving specificity and sensitivity of methylation-specific PCR on DNA methylation analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Developing a methylation-specific dot blot assay (MSP-DB) to increase the sensitivity and specificity of simultaneous methylation analysis of multiple genes is the goal of the present study to evaluate the methylation status of GSTP1 and RASSF1A from prostate cancer in Vietnamese males. METHODS: The methylation of GSTP1 and RASSF1A was investigated by using the MSP in 50 prostate cancer and 17 benign prostate hyperplasia specimens. The MSP-DB assay that uses a single or multiple probes specifically detected the methylation status of a particular gene or of the two genes GSTP1 and RASSF1A at the same time in a series of samples. The sensitivity and specificity of the MSP-DB were compared to those of the MSP. RESULTS: The probes specifically hybridized with the methylated targets only in the MSP-DB, which allowed detecting GSTP1 and RASSF1A methylation in 23 of 50 and 14 of 50 patients with prostate cancer and in 2 of 17 and 4 of 17 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia. MSP-DB following the MSP assay improved the sensitivity of detection to more than 0.01 % methylated status of a given high CpG-rich region. One methylated MSP product corresponding to the GSTP1, lack of methylated cytosine, was clearly detected on gel electrophoresis but barely visible on MSP-DB. Thus, the MSP-DB is suitable to eliminate the risk of false-positive results. CONCLUSION: The MSP-DB dispels the weakness of MSP and increases the sensitivity to simultaneous methylation analysis of multiple genes. The MSP-DB is advantageous for the promotion of DNA methylation markers in progressing quickly toward clinical application.